ATLANTIC CITY — In Atlantic City casinos, cocktail waitresses serve drinks with a smile and plenty of sass.

Drunken debauchery, cheap customers and degrading comments are all part of the job. So are the revealing short skirts, low-cut tops and teased hair, not to mention the bright lipstick and thick mascara.

What happens when you’re allegedly deemed too old or physically unfit to wear the coveted attire?

Seven cocktail waitresses at the Golden Nugget Casino have filed a gender discrimination lawsuit against the casino’s owner, claiming they were illegally denied the chance to work at the casino’s new "party pits" because of their appearances.

Instead, women ages 19 to 26, wearing new, smaller uniforms only made in sizes 0-4, were hired to staff the new pits, according to the lawsuit. The uniforms, the plaintiffs claim, amounted to "little more than a see-through negligee."

Facing pressure to up its sex appeal, the casino opened the entertainment areas "in an effort to attract an upscale, younger male clientele," according to the claims.

Although the plaintiffs were not fired, they claim they were improperly passed over for the pit assignments, which were at "economically advantageous locations and time slots."

The lawsuit, which seeks compensatory and punitive damages, along with work assignments for the women in the party pits, was originally filed a month ago in Superior Court in Atlantic County. Last week, it was moved to the federal jurisdiction because it contains federal claims, including apparent references to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, according to an application filed by the defense attorney.

An attorney for Landry Corp., which owns the Golden Nugget, was quick to blast the lawsuit during an interview today.

"We obviously deny all of the claims being alleged," said Lauren Ware, who serves as in-house counsel for Landry Corp. in Houston. "It’s in litigation, so the truth will come out. It’s a shame we’re having to defend ourselves on such a meritless lawsuit."

Ware said the so-called "party pits" are commonplace in Atlantic City casinos. At the Golden Nugget, she said, it’s an area that provides a lounge or bar atmosphere with live entertainment. Both the dealers and the waitresses wear costumes different from the rest of the casino floor workers, she said.

Five of the seven plaintiffs are over 40 years old and claiming age discrimination, according to the suit. Public records show that at least two of the women are in their mid-50s. Calls to several of the plaintiffs were unreturned.

The lawsuit also names the women’s supervisors as defendants, claiming that they frequently made comments that indicated that the waitresses’ looks would be the top criteria for determining if they could work in the pits.

Those supervisors used phrases such as, "not looking comfortable," "not meeting the physical criteria" and having a body that was not "sufficient" to describe the women, the lawsuit claims.

One plaintiff, Maryann Bishop, claims she was allowed to work some shifts in the party pits but was "micromanaged, unfairly disciplined, unfairly belittled and humiliated" as a form of retaliatory harassment.

The attorney for the plaintiffs, Kevin Costello, did not return an attempt for comment.

It’s not Costello’s first experience with these types of lawsuits. In April 2011, he filed a Superior Court lawsuit on behalf of a group of cocktail waitresses who claim they were fired from Resorts Casino Hotel after they didn’t meet the sexy standards for the new Roaring ‘20s flapper-themed outfits. The case is still pending.

Several years ago, there was another similar lawsuit in Atlantic City. In 2006, two cocktail waitresses sued Borgota Hotel Casino & Spa for sex discrimination. The $70 million lawsuit was settled out of court in 2008.